Measurement of acceleration due to gravity (g) by a compound pendulum

Aim: (i) To determine the acceleration due to gravity (g) by means of a compound pendulum.
(ii) To determine radius of gyration about an axis through the center of gravity for the
compound pendulum.
Apparatus and Accessories: (i) A bar pendulum, (ii) a knife–edge with a platform, (iii) a sprit
level, (iv) a precision stop watch, (v) a meter scale and (vi) a telescope.

Theory:
A simple pendulum consists of a small body called a “bob” (usually a sphere) attached to
the end of a string the length of which is great compared with the dimensions of the bob and the
mass of which is negligible in comparison with that of the bob. Under these conditions the mass
of the bob may be regarded as concentrated at its center of gravity, and the length of the
pendulum is the distance of this point from the axis of suspension. When the dimensions of the
suspended body are not negligible in comparison with the distance from the axis of suspension to
the center of gravity, the pendulum is called a compound, or physical, pendulum. A rigid body
mounted upon a horizontal axis so as to vibrate under the force of gravity is a compound
pendulum.
In Fig.1 a body of irregular shape is pivoted about a horizontal frictionless axis through P and is
displaced from its equilibrium position by an angle θ. In the equilibrium position the center of
gravity G of the body is vertically below P. The distance GP is l and the mass of the body is m.
The restoring torque for an angular displacement θ is
τ = - mg l sinθ …(1) P

For small amplitudes (θ ≈ 0),

l
= − , …(2) L

where I is the moment of inertia of the body through the axis P.

Eq. (2) represents a simple harmonic motion and hence the time G
period of oscillation is given by
θ
=2 …(3) O

Now = + , where IG is the moment of inertia of the

body about an axis parallel with axis of oscillation and passing
through the center of gravity G.
IG = mK2 …(4) Fig. 1
where K is the radius of gyration about the axis passing through
G. Thus,

1
 =2 =2 …(5)
The time period of a simple pendulum of length L, is given by

=2 …(6)
Comparing with Eq. (5) we get
= + …(7)

This is the length of “equivalent simple pendulum”. If all the mass of the body were concentrated
at a point O (See Fig.1) such that = + , we would have a simple pendulum with the same
time period. The point O is called the ‘Centre of Oscillation’. Now from Eq. (7)

− + =0 ...(8)

i.e. a quadratic equation in l. Equation 6 has two roots l1 and l2 such that

+ =
and = …(9)

Thus both and are positive. This means that on one side of C.G there are two positions of
the centre of suspension about which the time periods are the same. Similarly, there will be a pair
of positions of the centre of suspension on the other side of the C.G about which the time periods
will be the same. Thus there are four positions of the centers of suspension, two on either side of
the C.G, about which the time periods of the pendulum would be the same. The distance between
two such positions of the centers of suspension, asymmetrically located on either side of C.G, is
the length L of the simple equivalent pendulum. Thus, if the body was supported on a parallel
axis through the point O (see Fig. 1), it would oscillate with the same time period T as when
supported at P. Now it is evident that on either side of G, there are infinite numbers of such pair
of points satisfying Eq. (9). If the body is supported by an axis through G, the time period of
oscillation would be infinite. From any other axis in the body the time period is given by Eq. (5).
From Eq.(6) and (9), the value of g and K are given by

=4 …(10)

= …(11)

By determining L, and graphically for a particular value of T, the acceleration due to

gravity g at that place and the radius of gyration K of the compound pendulum can be
determined.

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Description:

The bar pendulum consists of a metallic bar of about one meter long. A series of circular holes
each of approximately 5 mm in diameter are made along the length of the bar. The bar is
suspended from a horizontal knife-edge passing through any of the holes (Fig. 2). The knife-
edge, in turn, is fixed in a platform provided with the screws. By adjusting the rear screw the
platform can be made horizontal.

Fig. 2 Fig. 3

Procedure:
(i) Suspend the bar using the knife edge of the hook through a hole nearest to one end of the bar.
With the bar at rest, focus a telescope so that the vertical cross-wire of the telescope is coincident
with the vertical mark on the bar.
(ii) Allow the bar to oscillate in a vertical plane with small amplitude (within 40 of arc).
(iii) Note the time for 20 oscillations by a precision stop-watch by observing the transits of the
vertical line on the bar through the telescope. Make this observation three times and find the
mean time t for 20 oscillations. Determine the time period T.
(iv) Measure the distance d of the axis of the suspension, i.e. the hole from one of the edges of
the bar by a meter scale.
(v) Repeat operation (i) to (iv) for the other holes till C.G of the bar is approached where the time
period becomes very large.

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(vi) Invert the bar and repeat operations (i) to (v) for each hole starting from the extreme top.
(vii) Draw a graph with the distance d of the holes as abscissa and the time period T as ordinate.
The nature of graph will be as shown in Fig. 3.
Draw the horizontal line ABCDE parallel to the X-axis. Here A, B, D and E represent the point
of intersections of the line with the curves. Note that the curves are symmetrical about a vertical
line which meets the X-axis at the point G, which gives the position of the C.G of the bar. This
vertical line intersects with the line ABCDE at C. Determine the length AD and BE and find the
length L of the equivalent simple pendulum from = = .

Find also the time period T corresponding to the line ABCDE and then compute the value of g.
Draw several horizontal lines parallel to X-axis and adopting the above procedure find the value
of g for each horizontal line. Calculate the mean value of g. Alternatively, for each horizontal
line obtain the values of L and T and draw a graph with T2 as abscissa and L as ordinate. The
graph would be a straight line. By taking a convenient point on the graph, g may be calculated.

Similarly, to calculate the value of K, determine the length AC, BC or CD, CE of the line
ABCDE and compute √ ΧB or √ Χ . Repeat the procedure for each horizontal line. Find
the mean of all K.

Observations:
Table 1-Data for the T versus d graph

Serial no of Distance d of Time for 20 Mean time t for Time period

holes from one the hole from oscillations (sec) 20 oscillations T = t/20 (sec)
end one end (cm) (sec)
One 1 ….. …. ….. …..
side of ….
C.G ….
2 ….. ….. …. ……
……
….
3 …… …. ….. ……..
… .….
… ……
Other 1 ….. …. ….. …..
side of ….
C.G ….
2 ….. ….. …. ……
……
……
3 …… …… ….. ……..
… …….
… ……

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TABLE 2- The value of and K from T vs. d graph

No. of obs. T Mean‘ ’ K Mean ‘K’

=4
(cm) (sec) (cm/sec2) (cm) (cm)
(cm/sec2)
1. ABCDE (AD+BE)/2 .. .. √ ΧB
or
√ Χ
2. .. .. .. ..
3. .. .. .. ..

Computation of proportional error:

We have from Eq. (10)

( / )
=4 …(12)
( )

Since L = Lx/2 (Lx= AD+BE) and T = t/20, therefore, we can calculate the maximum proportional
error in the measurement of g as follows

= + 2 … (13)

= the value of the smallest division of the meter scale

= the value of the smallest division of the stop-watch

Precautions and Discussions:

(i) Ensure that the pendulum oscillates in a vertical plane and that there is no
rotational motion of the pendulum.
(ii) The amplitude of oscillation should remain within 40 of arc.
(iii) Use a precision stop-watch and note the time accurately as far as possible.
(iv) Make sure that there is no air current in the vicinity of the pendulum.
References:
1. Fundamentals of Physics: Resnick & Halliday
2. Practical physics: R.K. Shukla, Anchal Srivatsava, New Age International (P) Ltd, New Delhi
3. Eric J. Irons, American Journal of Physics, Vol. 15, Issue 5, pp.426 (1947)